A Trit is basically material inside a mini glass canister that projects (glows) light for 10-15 years without having to be (re)charged. The Ant doesn't take any lithium batteries, and therefore sticks to 120lumens on high for 20 minutes before the battery is empty. Strobe mode is hidden, and can be entered by setting the light to Low mode and press-and-hold the switch.

Best AA flashlight 2017

Check out the most popular AA flashlight of 2017.

Utorch UT01

XPL LED pocket flashlight with max 800lumens on a 14500 battery, 4 modes including 3 hidden modes for SOS, Strobe and Location beacon.

Most popular budget AA flashlight of 2016/2017.

High output even on NiMH batteries

Side switch

AA and 14500 (not protected 14500 due to the length)

4 standard modes

Hidden strobe

Originally launched end of 2016, the light has been very popular throughout 2017. You get quite a bit of bang for the buck. Both available in NW and CW, and can run on NiMH and 14500. Please take note that protected 14500 may not fit! Running the Utorch on a eneloop AA, it can provide up to 400 lumens in Turbo mode. The light is usually between $12-$17. The output is programmable, but there have been reports of people that had some difficulty getting this to work. But for a budget AA flashlight, this is the #1 budget AA of 2017.

Best single cell flashlight of 2017

The best flashlight of 2017 using 1 Li-Ion battery. Only buy if you know how to treat lithium-ion batteries.

Emisar D4

The brightest and most popular single cell flashlight of 2017.

With a Nichia 219C 5000K you can get up to 3800 lumens

With the XPG-2 you can get up to3300 lumens

With the XPL-HI you can get up to 4300 lumens.

So it is a real sub 10cm hotrod that blows everything out of the water that is currently avaiable in stock format! The Emisar is only available at 2 stores worldwide at the moment. Intl outdoor in China (see link) and Mtn Electronics in the US (see link).

The light can be used with 18650, 18500, 18350 or 16340 cell. With or without adapters. Because the body can be replaced for a shorter or longer version. It has a simplified Narsil UI firmware on its driver.

Best multi-18650 flashlights of 2017

The best flashlight of 2017 using multiple Li-Ion batteries. These are considered the most powerful flashlights.

BLF Q8 (quatro XPL)

Best budget quatro flashlight for 4*18650 batteries. Quad XPL LED. Can be used with 1 - 4 batteries. 5000-6000 lumens.

Best flashlight for the money in 2017.

1-4 18650 lithium batteries

4x XPL LED for 5000 lumens

Best budget flashlight of 2017

Specd by the BLF team in order to get the most bang for the buck. Quality and powerful. The light is produced by flashlight maker Thorfire, and sold at banggood. It has been a very, very popular light amongst many flashaholics. Driver is running the NarsilM firmware, with the standard UI being ramping with a direct access to turbo with a double click. Press and hold for ramping up, and same for ramping down. 4x XPL LED for 5000 lumens. (need to use good cells to get the most output). Or check out my own BLF Q8 review.

A bright 2x26650 budget flashight with XHP70

4 modes, Low, Medium, High and Turbo. (with last mode memory) and a hidden strobe.

Spring bypasses in stock form (unique)

Excellent build quality

It is officially a 2016 light, but out of the survey it seemed still a very popular flashilght. About 3800 lumens in Turbo, and 38lumens on Minimum. Adviced to use longer 26650 cells especially when using the tactical ring. In Stock form some users noted that the spring on the driver side and tailcap were bypassed! Which is rather unique!

This light can throw and has great flood at the same time. There are not many lights in production that do both at the same time, so well. Unfortunately the price is rather high, but you really get a lot of lumens back for it. Unlike its sibling the X60M, the X65 uses a side switch to change modes. The X60M uses a control ring. To enter the first Turbo mode, you simply double click. And when in Turbo mode you can enter the second Turbo mode for 12000 lumens with a short turn off and back on again (a slow double click). The X65 uses a proprietary battery pack with lithium ion cells, which can be a pro and a con at the same time. At least all the cells will be a great set.. but its more difficult to replace, and at quite a steep price.

Astrolux MF01

18*XPG3/Nichia leds. One of the greatest Flooder lights of 2017. Max 12000 lumens.

A soupcan sized light, but with the power of a workhorse. Only a fraction longer than the infamous Convoy S2+. The battery carrier is 2S 2P (so 2 batteries in series and 2 batteries parallel. (so it would work with only 2 batteries installed as well, at reduced output). At 2.9V the low-power indicator starts blinking. At 2.7V the light turns off. Max output is about 120W, and 12000 lumens. use code: 4BLF for 9% discount at banggood. Price +- $100

After many users showed some problems with the initial version of the DX80, I want to warn you before buying. Please read some detailed reviews first before you buy, like here: http://budgetlightforum.com/node/56217

Another soupcan sized flashlight, but in the premium market. The head size is only 65mm wide, and the light itself is merely 12 cm long. Reviewer Maiden found out that the light produced about 22000 lumens max, and 130 lumens at the lowest setting. You need to use button top, and at least protected cells to really fit the battery carrier.

BOSS 35 & 70

The Boss 35 and 70 (combo) has an XPL Led and is programmable by the user.

Most popular premium flashlight 2017

Available in Titanium, copper, brass and aluminum

2 sizes

Multi battery options

User porgrammable modes

3500 lumens high

0.2 lumen low

Available in XPL (4000K) and Nichia 219C (4000K)

An exclusive light made by oveready.com. The Boss35 and Boss 70 are identical flashlights with the difference in the battery tube alone. The 70 is especially for 1x 18650 or 2x 18350, while the Boss 35 is designed for a single 18350. This one is considered one of the best premium flashlights for 2017 by CPF members. Price $270-632